Raipur, May 22 -- Top Maoist leader Nambala Keshav Rao or Basavaraju, was among 27 extremists gunned down by security forces in a fierce encounter inside the dense forests of Chhattisgarh, the government announced on Wednesday, marking its most significant victory against the insurgency in years.

An engineer by training, Rao was the general secretary of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and considered to be the backbone of the insurgency operations in central India. He also masterminded several major attacks on security forces, including Chiltanaar ambush in which 76 jawans were killed in 2010.

"A landmark achievement in the battle to eliminate Naxalism. Today, in an operation in Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, our security forces ...